Tao Ren
Tao Ren(道 蓮, Dào Lián, known as Len Tao in the English anime and English video games) is a fictional character in the manga and anime series of Shaman King. Ren was born on January 1, 1986 and is the main heir to the Tao Family. Role in Falica's Overact He was hynotized with all ther heroes During the first battle with the Titans, He and all the heroes was free from the curse was was sealed in the Triforce of protection. Appearance Tao Ren is shorter than Yoh and most of his friends, at 4'9", but he seems to look taller when the length of the spike in his hair is added up. This spike is a part of his hairstyle called tongari. He is relatively thin, and his spiked hair is a shade of dark purple. Ren's eyes are golden in the anime, but in the manga's colored pages, they usually appear gold, brown or the same color as his hair. His street clothes are his school uniform; a pair of black shorts, a tucked-in, white dress shirt, a yellow jacket, a dark green tie and a pair of brown shoes. When he was to travel to America, his old jacket was worn-out, so his mother gave him a similar one. When traveling through the country he wears a black coat, a yellow scarf, long pants and brown leather shoes. When he left to America, he also brought with him a new battle uniform, that is inspired by kung fu cloth. It consists of black pants, with an open triangular pattern along both sides and yellow lining, that are tied with a thin white scarf. He also wears a black vest tied together in a triangular pattern that also has yellow lining with a midsection revealing his midriff. The vest also has an opening in the back outlining his Tao tattoo. Even though he brought it with him from before the start of the Shaman Fight, the reason why he never wore it during the fights in America was because they were all so sudden, that he never had the chance to change. In the anime he wears a similar battle uniform during the second round of the Shaman Fight, only difference being that he wore a red vest, and simple black pants. Although of this, he is still seen a couple of times wearing this suit in the manga series as a casual outfit during the Second Rounds of the Shaman Fights. Personality He is serious, logical, and emotionally aloof. He has become like this because of how he was raised. Because of his father Tao Yúan (Tao En), Ren had adapted a deep hatred towards humanity and a strong yearning to eliminate them all. He also believed that his spirit companion, Bason, was only meant to be used as a tool and to treat him as a friend would only result in the spirit taking advantage over him. Ren's anger and hatred came from his father (or uncle in the English anime). Forced to train and study at a very young age, Ren had his childhood stolen from him. He hated Tao En for all of his suffering. Ren tries hard to maintain a tough and confident exterior and is aloof, but deep down would risk his life for his allies. Ren is a particularly impatient person with a very short temper, and isn't afraid to hurt the source of the anger. Ren is an egotistical person and usually doesn't care that people think that he's overly proud. He even named his own team, Team "The Ren", much to the annoyance of his teammate, Horohoro. His overflowing self-confidence annoys some of the other characters. In addition, Ren is also very intuitive, quick-witted, and sometimes stubborn. He is also very defiant. He rarely listens to what anyone says or takes their instructions. Before and during the process in which he befriended Asakura Yoh, he even was bold enough to disobey his father on various occasions. As the Shaman Fight progresses, Ren begins to trust others more. Out of all his friends, his bonds with Yoh and Horohoro seem to be the strongest. Ren often fights with Horohoro and the two do not seem to get along at all. However, after Ren is fatally stabbed by Peyote Diaz, it becomes apparent that they really do care for one another. As Faust VIII worked to try to save Ren's life after the incident, Horohoro did his best to protect the dying Ren. Abilities and Powers As a human Ren has a very strong body as evidence by his tough and constant training. He is very skilled in martial arts and sword fighting, in addition to also learning techniques by just watching them as he was able to learn many of Asakura Mikihisa's techniques simply by experiencing them firsthand, and also learning to use Oversoul by just seeing Chrome use his. It is mentioned that Ren is skilled in more than one area of combat and is a powerful shaman capable of performing feats most shamans his age would not be able to. He is one of only a handful of shamans that can actually stare straight into the heart of the Great Spirit without fainting. The only others that can do this would be Iron Maiden Jeanne, Asakura Hao, and possibly Lady Sati. Ren becomes one of the Five Elemental Warriors and gains the Spirit of Thunder. His element is reflected in his weapon, the Hou Rai Ken (Jewel Thunder) sword, and according to Pascal Avaf, The Spirit of Thunder follows the way of taoism. While fighting his way through the Plants, Kyōyama Anna looked through the Furyoku values of Ren and the others. There it is revealed that his Furyoku is about 100,001 though it might be higher due to him dying a few times and being brought back.< Weapons In the beginning of the series, Ren fights with a kwan dao, a Chinese spear-like weapon. However, as he begins to face more powerful enemies, he switches to the Bâo-Lèi Sword, the Tao's family most treasured heirloom sword. With this sword, he creates a variety of over souls, such as the Super Bushin. Hou Rai Ken has the special ability of purifying and refining the spirit being integrated into it, making the spirit recall all of its past techniques from when it was still alive. Spirit He is rather submissive (reflected in his "Can I help you master Tao Ren?" or "Can I go Master Ren" statements when asking for permission to speak or fight), extremely loyal to Ren, and rarely oversteps his boundaries unless Ren is in grave danger. He also refers to Ren as "bocchama" (Young Master). When Ren used the Hou Rai Ken (Bâo-Lèi) it increased the strength of Bason several times and evolved him into a seirei-class spirit.Bason(馬 孫, Mǎsūn) is the spirit of Tao Ren. A fierce warrior from the era of Kublai Khan, Bason has always served the Tao family, even now in death. Like Amidamaru, he is a supremely powerful spirit, capable of destroying an army with ease and their skills are on pair. After becoming one of the Five Elemental Warriors,he gains the Spirit of Thunder,which follows the way of taoism. Trivia *Ren's name in Chinese means "benevolent", "tough", and "edge of a knife", all of which are reflected in his character. His actual Chinese name, Lián, means "lotus" and is actually a girl's name. *Ren has an obsession with milk and the number 3. *A running gag in the series is that Ren's tongari grows longer whenever he gets irritated or shocked. *It is mentioned in the interview part in the official Shaman King character book, that he would like a girl if she is smaller than him and not very annoying. Category:Heroes Category:Kakashi's/Tigger's Group Category:Character Category:Humans Category:Teenagers Category:Action Heroes/Heroines